spatel0169

LexusFreak, are you saying you will go to T rated Goodyear TripleTreads next. I am nearing a replacement soon and am very tempted to go T rated Goodyear Tripletreads but have been hesitating, since most gurus have recomended not going 2 ratings below. Question to all : If I don't expect to go above 90mph at any time can I go Goodyear Tripletreads. Snow/wet traction and smoothness/quietness are 2 highest requirements on my list, followed by warranty, and these seem have them best (as per tirerack.com). I currently have Goodyear Comfordtreads on my minivan and am extremely happy with them. But then I may be comparing apples to watermelons! cheers

36 now (Lexus owner at 35). I think average age of owner has little to do with car preference. It all about affordability. Normally your earning will peak out at 55 and hence most luxury car owners are around that age. I remember reading somewhere that Lexus's target profile for ES was a 35 year old male having with household income of $120k+.

Here is something to ponder ... On the snowy day (about 1 inch snow on ground) that I bumped my car, I was driving down a slope at 8 to 10 mph and could not stop even after I applied full brakes 25 feet before impact. The Trac, VSC ... everything went active before the impact. It was like the car took over and failed to do the job! I suspect the the poor snow traction of Michelin MXV4 tires had something to do with it too. Later on when I tried to drive up that same slope I couldn't climb and the car kept on slipping again with trac active sign coming on. After 4 tries I switched OFF the trac and was quite surprised to see the car climb in one go ... which made me wonder if trac on was actually detrimental in this scenerio?

I am going out-of-pocket since my insurance deductible is kinda high. I am allowed to get the parts. The headlight $400 and hood $500 add up to $900 in the quote of $1700, so I will definitely get the parts myself. Also I was told that there 2 types of headlights for 2002 lexus es. One is xenon with a control box (to do the auto-leveling and other fun-stuff) which costs about $350. The other one is regular non-xenon which is $150. I've been trying to understand the difference and whether I can use the non-xenon one and just put my existing bulbs (and the control module if it can be detached?) into it ... I did see a few on ebay from $80 onwards but some are $399 ... some say HID some not. Some say lenses only without wiring? Not sure which one to buy. Is HID same as xenon? As far as the color is concerned I will leave it for them. I know they do a good job.

Lexus-Damage .. have attached the link to the pics. I took it to a competent body shop and was advised that following things need to be done ... 1) Replace hood. 2) Replace passenger headlight. 3) Repair right fender. 4) Repair radiator support. 5) Paint. 6) Align front bumper. ... estimated damage 1.7k

Hi guys, :cries: Unfortunately I bumped my car (front passenger side) in the last snowstorm and now have a broken passenger headlight. The lenses and turn signal bulb are broken but the xenon bulb is still working. I think the hood will need to be replaced too. Perhaps the grill too. The bumper and fog lights still seem intact. Everything else is working ok. I contacted a few after market sellers and they said the xenon headlights (including bulbs) would cost about $400 (vis-a-vis regular non-xenon headlight which cost $150). Is this true? Can I use the non-xenon headlight with the existing working bulb that I have? Can the replacement of the hood and headlight be done by a local mechanic or should it referred to a dealership only? I would appreciate if you know of anyone who would a sell silver colored hood for 2002 lexus es300 and passenger side headlight (xenon).

Awesome mxl. This is the first time I've seen a computer installed in a car! The DVD install is great too. Do you do installations such as these (DVD/Computer/Remote starter) for a fee? I am at Parsippany NJ (about 10-12 miles from Riverdale, NJ) and am interested in doing a few on my 2002 ES.

Programmer/Analyst (Information Technology) at a Wall Street firm. Also an investor ... 35 hoping to retire at 38! ... if I can just get a little lucky.

... - when you order 2 sets of manuals and keep one in your car and one right in front of you on your desk besides your computer. - when you start worrying about the micron sizes of the particles you are trying to protect your engine from. - when you count how many times you have visited http://owners.lexus.com and http://auto.howstuffworks.com in the last few days. - when for the first time you feel good about your silver hair only because they matched the color of your favorite car! Life is good, keep driving ...

Thanks SW03ES, I've been thinking and researching about the frequent sulphur odor I was getting in my 2002 es. I thought it was due the frequent short trips I was making. Even got a couple of cans of fuel injector cleaner to try n fix it. But I guess it is a real problem. The catalytic converter and protector has a 8 year/80k warranty under emission performance.

Something I found on this topic on the net ... http://www.1st-in-synthetics.com/letters2.htm Anybody knows where to get AMSoil at a great price?

Also the Hydroedge is about 20% cheaper and has a longer treadlife at 90k miles compared to 40k for V rated Michelins. The 215/60-16 size has a 94T rating which I think is good enough. I'm definitely going with Hydroedges when a replacement is due ... unless of course one of the gurus here advises me against it!

Anybody knows a good independent Lexus/Toyota mechanic in the Parsippany, NJ (Morris County) area?

... and to this favorite one-liner from the naysayers ... "Lexus is great for people who want their car to get them from point A to point B in comfort without surprises" ... I'd say "But where is the surprise if the other cars breakdown while getting from point A to point B!"

Gee I don't understand the 'boring' label either. Being 'flashy' or showing more muscle or throwing more HP is easy for any car company to do. IMO, being most reliable and most quiet are difficult and worthwhile goals to achieve. I test drove a BMW and an Audi and sure enough they felt like I was driving on a 'duct taped' road with all the road hug/road feel present but that wasn't much of an excitement or luxury for me. Cruising anywhere between 0 to 100 mph and being able to ignore the road while listening to my favorite number on a Mark Levinson at high volume is more fun and luxury to me. And whoever said Lexus does not turn heads never owned one. Besides with whatever power (210 HP) that was available I didn't feel a need to add 20 or 30 more to it just for the heck of it. So this performance/excitement/fun differentiation is all bull. They say 'Its just salad days for Lexus in the luxury car market'. To that I'd add "Wait for another 10-15 years and we'll see who eats the cake at supper time!"